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Sheffield Wednesday: Pundit shares sympathy for Monk and the ‘tough job’ he had at Hillsborough

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Image for Sheffield Wednesday: Pundit shares sympathy for Monk and the ‘tough job’ he had at Hillsborough

David Prutton and Gary Weaver joined Jonathan Oakes on the latest edition of the Sky Sports EFL Podcast, where the panel spent some time talking about Garry Monk, who was sacked by Sheffield Wednesday just over a week ago

The Owls endured a difficult start to the 2020/21 campaign under Monk, as the 41-year-old was sacked with the Yorkshire club sitting second-bottom on the Championship table whilst battling a hefty points deduction. 

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An easy one to kick off our quiz on this past week in the EFL, who was appointed as Sheffield Wednesday's new manager last Friday?

However, the Owls did manage to take a total of four points from their last two league games under Monk, which is the joint-best stretch of form that they’ve enjoyed in the league all season.

During this recent edition of the Sky Sports EFL Podcast, Prutton shared that members of Monk’s coaching staff believed that they were starting to turn a corner just before the manager was sacked. The pundit then went on to share some sympathy for the now-ex-Owls boss and the “tough job” he had at Hillsborough.

Prutton said: “I think, having spoken to members of their coaching staff, [they were] thinking that this was a potential corner to be turned and then, for the decision to be made quite cuttingly and very quickly turned around to Tony Pulis – we’re discussing things that we will discuss forever and ever – the brutal nature of what it is to be a professional football manager and I think it was a tough job that Garry had on there. 

“The thing is as well, with that spectre looming over them of something as big as a points deduction – who knows, subconsciously or emotionally, what that could do to the wellbeing of a squad. If a manager’s bearing the brunt of that responsibility, it’s not just that couple or three hours on a football pitch every day when you’re training the players, it’s a prolonged ability to spin plates, being a manager of a football club, and that might have permeated into the way that that team was playing.”

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TIF Thoughts on what Prutton had to say about Monk’s “tough job” at Sheffield Wednesday…

Even if they hadn’t been handed a six-point deduction, the Owls would only be one place above the relegation zone based on their results this term.

However, Prutton may have made a good point by saying that the fact the club did have to deal with this points deduction could have harmed the mentality of Monk’s squad and may have influenced their results, given that they were essentially fighting an uphill battle from the beginning of the season, which can’t have been pleasant for them. 

Given that the Owls’ points deduction was not Monk’s fault, perhaps it’s understandable why Prutton shared some sympathy for the coach during this podcast as it may be fair to say that he had a tough job this term. 

The Owls’ points deduction was twice as big for the majority of the season, as it had only been halved from 12 points to six points on 4th November following the team’s win over Bournemouth a day prior and they went on to take a point from their clash with Millwall in the only game they’ve played since then.

Their draw with Millwall in their most recent league game took them off the bottom of the table, so perhaps it’s understandable why Wednesday’s coaching staff may have felt that they were turning a corner and so maybe Monk’s sacking is an example of the “brutal nature” of football management, as Prutton suggested.

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